Process of coating material



' W. H. SOMMER PROCESS OF COATING MATERIAL Filed March 25, 1923 DRHLR FLUX ACHD

I A" i IN VEN TOR.

Patented Oct. 21, 1924.

. UNITE/D sA'rEs WILLIAM H. SOMMER, OF PEOBIA, ILLINOIS.

PROCESS OF COATING MATERIAL.

Application filed March 25, 1922. Serial No. 546,983. I

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. SOMMER, a citizen of the United States, a resident of Peoria, in the county of Peoria and State of Illinois, have invented new and useful Improvements in Processes of Coating Materials, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has reference to a method of coating materials having an iron base and 1fparticularly the coating of wire used in the cues industry and for otherpurposes.

The principal object of this invention is to permit the formation of heavily coated material and obviating the use of long coating baths. Such formations of heavy coatings has for its object an improved coating which will be more resistant to atmospheric rusting and corrodin conditions than is ordinary galvanized wire, and which further will permit a heavier coated wire to be used in wire fabricating machines without causing the coating to crack or flake off as is the case with heavily coated wire coatedby ordinary processes.

A further object of the invention is to permit the use of higher speeds for galvanizing wire, and, at the same time, causing a heavier coating to be formed on the wire than can be used under the ordinary galvanizing processes where heavier coatings are desired.

Galvanized wire which is to be used for fabricating purposes and more particularly that which is to be used in the manufacture of woven wire fencing must have a relativel heavy coatin of spelter in order to be a le to withstan atmospheric corroding conditions, and before my invention was developed this was not ossible except at a much increased cost of production, due to slow speeds, long spelter baths and other causes. I

At the present time there are only two methods in use whereby these necessary heavy zinc (spelter) coatings may be obtained by the hot process of galvanizing.

The first method is to pass the wire very slowly as it emerges from the alvanizing I bath, thru finely divided cliarcoa By such a process a smooth, thick coating may be obtained. This method is used for the manufacture of telephone wire. It has serious drawbacks, however, from an economic standpoint, because the wire must travel at a very slow speed, a very high grade zinc must be used, and, furthermore, the coated wire cannot be subjected to the action of Wire-fence fabricating machines without having considerable of the zinc coating crackor flake off the iron base. The second method is to cause the wire to travel at relatively slow speeds, through a bath of molten spelter, the speed depending on the gauge of the wire, the thickness of the coating desired and the length of the molten spelter bath, and wiping the wire by passing heavier coating on the wire and the coating is also smooth. It is necessary that this wiping take place before-the coating has set, otherwise I do not obtain a perfectly smooth coating. For this reason the location-of the wipers is dependent on the size of the wire,

the speed at which it travels and the tem perature of the spelter.

I have further discovered that by passing 'the wire thru an insulated medium I can keep the coating fluid for a longer length of time than is the case if I cause it to pass directly from the spelter to the wipes thru the air. Consequently, I preferably pass the wire as it leaves the spelter upward thru an insulated tube, then downwardly thru an-' other insulated tube and then thru suitable wipers.

In the accompanying drawing there is illustrated diagrammatlcally so much of a.

continuous galvanizing or coating apparatus to illustrate the use of the invention, including acid bath, flux bath, a drier, a coating bath, and an insulated tube through which the coated wire is passed before the wiping action, and finally a wipe of any suitable or preferred construction.

For example, I have taken a No. 9 gauge wire and passed it thru about thirteen to fifteen feet of spelter held at a temperature of approximately 87 5 degrees F. and passed it between asbestos pressure wipes immediately. This coating would stand two tests in copper sulfate before failure. Another similar wire treated in exactly the same manner, but interposing approximately three feet between the wipes and the point where the wire emerged from the s elter gave a coating which would stand rom three to fourccopper sulfate tests. The same result would occur when the insulator was used, this being particularly effective for the smaller wires. The speed of the wire in the above cases was approximately 80 feet per minute. If instead of traveling at the rate of 80 feet per minute the wire had been traveling at the rate of 100 feet per minute, the wipes instead of being three feet from the point at which the same emerged from the s elter could have been approximately four eet distant. An essential factor in this recess is the figmperature of the coating ath which m1 t be substantially higher than the melting point of the coating material, as for example in the case of spelter the minimum temperature in order to obtain the best results should not he below 850 degrees F I realize, of course, that wi ing wire is old, but the method by which secure my heavy coatings is new and it is obvious that modifications of the disclosed process ma be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. The process of alvanizing wire, which consists in passing t e wire, first-through a molten spelter loath and then passing the coated wire thru a heat insulator and wiping such coated wire iediately upon removing the same from said insulator.

2. The process of coating materials having an iron lease, which consists in subjecting the same, firstto a molten coating haththen passing the same 'thru a heat insulator, and finally wiping the coating while in a heated state.

3. The process of galvanizing wire, which consists in subjecting the wire to a molten coating bath, then passing the coated wire through a heat insulator and wiping the coating ust prior to the solidification of the coating.

4. The process of galvanizing wire, which consists in subjecting the wire to a coatin bath of approximately 875 degrees R, an wiping the coating at approximately three feet from the point where the wire is removed from the bath, such wire being moved continuously and at approximately 80 feet per minute.

5. The process of coating materials having an iron base, which consists in subjecting the material to a molten coating hath, then passing the coated material thru a heat insulator, and wiping the coating just prior to the solidification of the coating.

In witness whereof I have hereunto athxed my hand this 18th da of March 1922.

' wmm an n. sour/ran. 

